Volvo Trucks launches new FH heavy-duty truck; I-Torque and I-See cut fuel consumption by up to 10%

6 September 2012

The I-Torque driveline combines the new I-Shift 2 gearbox with a D13 Euro 6 engine. Click to enlarge.

Volvo Trucks has launched a new version of the FH, its flagship heavy-duty truck model for almost 20 years. The FH is critically important to Volvo, accounting for more than 60% of total sales. Since the launch of a new version of the Volvo FH in 1993, more than 650,000 units have been sold.

The new Volvo FH, developed over the past five years, features new solutions for fuel efficiency with the new I-Torque driveline. The new truck also features a new safety cage and new warning systems, and the cab is now up to one cubic meter bigger. Both the driver’s environment and the relaxation area have been optimized to function in the best possible way, according to the company.

The new Volvo I-Torque driveline, which will begin production for Europe in autumn 2013, meets the Euro 6 requirements and offers exceptional driveability. Together with I-See, I-Torque also cuts fuel consumption by up to 10%.

I-Torque’s excellent properties lies in the combination of high torque with a new automated powershift gearbox. I-Torque delivers 2,800 N·m (2,065 lb-ft) of torque and works at low engine revs, resulting in quiet operation.

Lower revs means fewer fuel injection pulses and combustions—and less friction. I-Torque operates in the rev range where this D13 engine is at its most efficient, between 900 and 1200 revs per minute.

—Mats Franzén, head of engine strategy at Volvo Trucks

The I-Torque system’s high power output is developed thanks to two key components—the new D13 Euro 6 engine producing 460 hp/2800 N·m, and a new dual-clutch version of the automated I-Shift transmission. A highly efficient Turbocompound system, new software, Common Rail technology and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) are some of the new features that make the engine more efficient and reduce its environmental impact.

The new gearbox is called I-Shift 2. With this unit, Volvo Trucks is the first manufacturer to install a dual-clutch automated transmission in a heavy duty truck.

With the dual-clutch system there is no torque interruption, not even during gearchanges. As a result, the engine can operate within its narrow optimized band, delivering faster acceleration and exceptional driveability. What is more, both noise and fuel consumption drop.

It feels as though you have two gearboxes. When you’re driving in one gear in one gearbox, the next gear is already engaged in the other one. The actual gearchange is lightning-quick and takes place without any interruption in power delivery.

—Astrid Drewsen, product manager for I-Torque

I-Torque reduces fuel consumption by up to 4%. When combined with I-See, Volvo Trucks’ technology for optimizing progress in undulating terrain together with other smaller improvements, it cuts fuel consumption by up to 10%.

Production of Volvo I-Torque will get under way in autumn 2013 in Europe and will be available for Euro 6. Before that the first D13 Euro 6 engine for the Volvo FH will be launched. The technology used in this first Euro 6 engine differs somewhat from the I-Torque unit, but the emission levels are the same, with a 77% reduction in nitrogen oxide and a 50% drop in particulate emissions compared with Euro 5.

The first Euro 6 engine is based on Volvo’s proven Euro 5 unit, which is also available in the new Volvo FH series. Just like this engine, the newcomer is an in-line six with unit injectors and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for the exhaust system. In order to meet the new emissions requirements, it also comes with an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system and a diesel particulate filter (DPF), solutions that Volvo Trucks has already been using for several years in the USA and Japan.